misc.ience

Tim Minchin explains ENCODE

Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 13, 2012

• ENCODE,
• genetics,
• Nature,
• regulation,
• Tim Minchin,
• Uncategorized

Well, here’s a fun little treat for your 10:30 teatime today. Anybody following the science news in the last week or two will have heard of the ENCODE results. Basically, we’re just taken a big step towards understanding the complexity of the human genome, and how it all works.  Which is good for a bunch [...] … Read More

Give your two cents on electric vehicles in NZ

Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 12, 2012

• APEV NZ,
• community,
• electric vehicle,
• EV,
• EV Supporters,
• idea,
• IdeaScale,
• market research,
• QMR,
• qualitative market research,
• testing,
• upvote

No doubt, some of you care (in some way or other) about electric cars, the technol9ogy on which they’re built, their useage and their future.   If one of those people is you, you could do worse than hieing* yourself over to the brand new – as in started yesterday – EV Supporters community. So [...] … Read More

Flight sim without the fuss

Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 11, 2012

• ADS-B,
• flight,
• FlightRadar24,
• live data,
• plane,
• planespotter,
• radar,
• realtime data

The headline to this post is, at the same time, misleading and not misleading at all. To explain: allow me to introduce to you FlightRadar24: Live flight traffic.     Now, I’m well aware that aeroplane anoraks* will either already know about it, or have just left this post by frantically clicking on the link [...] … Read More

Smearing rationality all over Harry Potter

Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 07, 2012

• fanfic,
• Harry Potter,
• rationality,
• Skepticism

Today, I found something new. Well, not found, per se, but rather was pointed to. And it’s not new, having been going for a coupla years or so now, but it’s certainly still going! It’s the rather epic fanfic Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationality. Written by American writer, blogger, friendly AI advocate and [...] … Read More

Selfies with Photosynth

Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 06, 2012

• design,
• photography,
• Photosynth

A few months ago, I downloaded Microsoft’s Photosynth app for my iPhone. Now, before you all start shouting ‘Booooo!’, I’d like to point out that Photosynth has been around for a while, and is a pretty cool and clever piece of tech. Also, the app is a joy to use. Another reason I’ve been playing [...] … Read More

This is your brain on hacks

Aimee Whitcroft • Sep 05, 2012

• Neuroscience,
• techniques

No, not hacks in _that_ sense.  More, here are a number of ways to hack your very own grey cells or (I guess) someone else’s*. Remember that your brain is more like a computer than you might, at first, think. It takes a series of inputs (generally from your senses), does something with them (such [...] … Read More

Meet eteRNA: “Played by humans, scored by Nature”

Aimee Whitcroft • Aug 29, 2012

• citizen science,
• eteRNA,
• folding game,
• game,
• online,
• RNA

As regular readers of mine will know, I have something of a jones for citizen science projects. Something of a substantial one, in fact.   And so, it’s with enormous joy that I’d like to introduce y’all to another member of the flock: eteRNA. In this online ‘game’, you get to help advance science by [...] … Read More

MoBIE announces 2012 investment round results

Aimee Whitcroft • Aug 24, 2012

• Funding,
• MBIE,
• MoBIE,
• research,
• science funding

The newly formed ‘Ministry of Everything’ – more formally called the Ministry of Business, Innovation & Employment – has announced the results of the first tranche of investment round funding.   Apparently, $133m will be invested, over the next 6 years ($32.8m of that this year alone), with 47 research projects being supported. The split: [...] … Read More

Turning octopus gestures into speech

Aimee Whitcroft • Aug 22, 2012

• concious,
• gestures,
• humour,
• octopus,
• speech

I’m sure that anyone who’s ever watched an octopus wasn’t in the slightest bit confused today when news broke that octopuses* are, in fact, conscious. But: ever wondered what octopuses are _saying_ when they languidly wave their tentacles at us? Well, the video below has an answer for you :P (A big thanks to @The_Episiarch [...] … Read More

Factory farming of the vegetable kind

Aimee Whitcroft • Aug 22, 2012

• Asia,
• China Daily,
• crops,
• factory farming,
• farming,
• Growing things,
• intensive famring,
• vegetable

Well, I’m back!  We survived not only the Mongol Rally, but the ensuing two weeks in Ulaanbataar (more on that in another post, though). Vegetable factory farming, China Daily August 18th 2012 , http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2012-08/17/content_15685417.htm. Click to enlarge. In the meantime, I bring you some Chinese science journalism, courtesy of the free newspaper* on the plane [...] … Read More